As multimedia applications become readily available in cellular telephones, the power drain of the telephones increases. This increase in power drain has put a limit on the use of many applications and is one of the challenges facing cellular handset makers. To combat this problem in cellular telephones with monochrome liquid crystal displays, the integration of a solar cell panel behind a STN display to collect ambient light energy for either emergency or standby uses has been described, as in Z. Li et al, “Photovoltaic cell integrated into a reflective LCD”, SID Digest-02. This supplementary power source is an integrated part of the monochrome display. However, the monochrome display is rapidly being replaced by color displays, so there is a need for supplementary power for cellular telephones with color displays. Although in some instances, conventional techniques for obtaining supplementary power for monochrome displays provide some supplementary power when used with the types of color displays now in use, recovering a more substantial portion of the energy from the incident light is desirable.